ITALIAN WINE IS NOT MOVING AHEAD ON THE INTERNET: THE GAP GROWS BETWEEN THAT OF THE OTHER ‘AMBASSADORS’ OF ITALIAN GOODS. THE WINNERS OF WINENEWS ‘WINERIES ON THE WEB’ 8TH EDITION TOP SITES: SANTA MARGHERITA, DONNAFUGATA, PLANETA, TASCA D’ALMERITA.

If in 2007 there was a small step ahead, in 2008, there were no signs of progress for the Italian wine world on the web, which continues to remain far behind the other “ambassadors” of Italian products, like automobiles, design, and fashion. With the exception of a restricted and elite circle that continues to invest in the tool that is now capable of reaching 1.5 billion users, the vast majority of winemaking companies continue to see the internet as an accessory for marketing their products and brand names. And this is the reason that there are very few new entries for the 8th edition of WineNews’ “Wineries on the Web” classification, created by www.winenews.it (one of the most referenced web sites for the Italian wine world) that analyzes over 2,500 sites each year by tracing the technological advancements among Italian winemakers.
The top twelve positions were given to: Santa Margherita (www.santamargherita.it), first place Donnafugata (www.donnafugata.it) and Planeta (www.planeta.it); second to Tasca d’Almerita (www.tascadalmerita.it); third, fourth, and fifth, go the Duca di Salaparuta-Vini Corvo-Cantine Florio group (www.duca.it - www.vinicorvo.it - www.cantineflorio.it, all owned by Illva di Saronno); sixth and seventh places go to two new entries, San Leonardo (www.sanleonardo.it) and Alessandro di Camporeale (www.alessandrodicamporeale.it); eighth and ninth, Gravner (www.gravner.it) and Bastianich (www.bastianich.com); tenth to Caprai (www.arnaldocaprai.it), followed by Feudi di San Gregorio (www.feudi.it) and, lastly, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia (www.ornellaia.it).
Overall, however, no particular improvements have been registered on the Italian wine scene: no serious variations occurred, with companies stagnant at 5% (while total earnings for the sector increased by 20% in 2008). T
he many sections dedicated to video did not register any increase in content. In general, many portals are still simply a sort of window display, with non-captivating graphics and technologies that would have been adequate 4-5 years ago, but far surpassed today. The situation is slightly better, instead, for the use of blogs and newsletters. And, this is not a comforting picture, when considering that in Italy alone in 2008, internet users grew by 162.9% with 35 million users, almost 60% of the total population. According to the Observatory on b2c e-commerce, in 2008, Italy registered an increase of 20% over 2007, reaching a total of 6 billion euros. More specifically, the fashion sector registered an increase of 43% over 2007, with total earnings at 250 million euros, while an even more impressive tourism sector registered a 50% increase with 3.4 billion euros earned. Given that food and wine is one of the main reasons tourists visit the country, it is difficult to understand why the wine world invests so little in a tool that could reach so many potential visitors.
Italian Wine and the Web: Piedmont and Tuscany fail, while Sicily is at the top of the list of technological creativity and innovation It seems that Italian winemakers, even at the end of 2008, have still not grasped the central role in global communications that the internet now plays. And the worst marks go to the two most important wine regions of Italy – Piedmont and Tuscany. Apart from a few exceptions, Piedmontese and Tuscan sites are best known for their graphically dated, scarce contents, and technologically primitive web sites, not to mention many who do not even have web sites. Oddly, it is Sicily the wine region that is the most internet savvy, with their use of the latest innovative technologies. The reason for this discordance may be due to the make-up of the winemaking companies of the different areas: those in Tuscany and Piedmont are often the property of families who have been passing the business down for generations and tradition may sometimes block any ideas of innovation. Until now, these traditions kept these businesses strong but at this point in time it has become necessary to look to the future. Sicilian entrepreneurs, on the other hand, jumped into the wine world without any past or tradition and aimed immediately towards the use of innovative technologies that could help them enter the newer markets. In general, the balance between the amount of exported Italian wine and international communications via internet is almost totally one-sided while in the rest of the world both sectors appear to be growing side by side.
The Great Divide: the image of Italian wine online is still far behind that of the other leading Italian sectors like autos, fashion, and design Wine has become a fundamental player and symbol for ‘Made in Italy’ goods over the past twenty years and now places itself among the other top representatives, auto, fashion, and design. However, looking at the difference in representation between this sector and the other export leaders an enormous divide can be seen. The majority of winery web sites, even those for top names, are notably behind – both from a technological and a graphic point of view – in respect to other web sites for the automobile, fashion, and design industries. All of these sectors survive through their image but navigators who look up wine sites discover a scenario that is far more antiquated when compared to that of the other sectors. While the others aim towards glamour, graphic and technological innovation, winemakers are still stuck amidst outdated sites and problems.
The Official “Wineries on the Web” Classification: WineNews presents the 8th edition of its annual list of Italy’s top wine websites after analyzing over 2,500 sites
1 - Santa Margherita @@@@@ www.santamargherita.it
2 - Donnafugata @@@@@ www.donnafugata.it
3 - Planeta @@@@@ www.planeta.it
4 - Tasca d’Almerita @@@@@ www.tascadalmerita.it
5 - Duca di Salaparuta - Vini Corvo - Cantine Florio @@@@@ www.vinicorvo.it
6 - San Leonardo @@@@ www.sanleonardo.it
7 - Alessandro di Camporeale @@@@ www.alessandrodicamporeale.it
8 - Gravner @@@@
www.gravner.it 9 -
Bastianich @@@@ www.bastianich.com
10 - Caprai @@@@ www.arnaldocaprai.it
11 - Feudi @@@@ www.feudi.it
12 - Ornellaia @@@@ www.ornellaia.it The following also received worthy mention
13 - Poggio Argentiera www.poggioargentiera.com
14 - Cavit www.cavit.it 15 -
Di Lenardo www.dilenardo.it 16 -
Agricola San Felice www.agricolasanfelice.it
17 - Mionetto www.mionetto.com
18 - Ciacci Piccolomini www.ciaccipiccolomini.com
19 - Argiolas www.argiolas.it
20 - Rapitalà www.rapitala.it
21 - Cusumano www.cusumano.it
22 - Ferrari www.ferrarispumanti.it
23 - Masi Agricola www.masi.it
24 - Castello di Romitorio www.castelloromitorio.com